Management Profiles

Leland Smith
President

Having been brought up in a small town in Kentucky, Leland spent most of his time working for his family's retail clothing business when not in school. In 1976, he graduated from the University of Kentucky with a degree in Business Administration. After graduation he worked as a Staff Accountant for American Standard in Lexington, Kentucky, prior to moving to California to work in his brother's plumbing business.

Leland soon started his own business doing plumbing, heating and air conditioning. In 1997 he sold that business to a publicly traded company and worked for them for approximately three years. In March of 2000, he founded Service Champions Heating and Air Conditioning. Service Champions' goal at the beginning of its existence, as it is today, is to provide homeowners in Southern California
a service that is beyond their expectations.

Leland resides in Yorba Linda with his wife of 26 years, and is the proud father of 3. One of Leland's passions outside of Service Champions is to meet the different Presidents of the United States and collect presidential autographs. Ever since he first saw President Nixon at the opening of the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, Leland has had a unique desire to meet as many Presidents as possible.

Jim Cooper
Operations Manager

Jim was raised in the heating, air conditioning and plumbing business, having worked as a journeyman for his parent's company. Jim started at the age of 16 learning the "ins and outs" of the HVAC industry. He brings to the table a wealth of knowledge for the technical aspects of heating and air conditioning as well as from the management side of the industry.

Jim came on board with Service Champions just three months after its start and has been key to the growth and sucess of the company. Jim oversees the field operations and carries on the vision of Service Champions to provide the utmost service to our customers.

Jim and his wife of sixteen years enjoy spending time with their 4 children. He also has a passion for cars, and is a proud member of Hot Rods Unlimited. Along with having their own charity event that helps raise money to find a cure for prostate cancer, members also support other car show groups that raise money for charity.

Stephen Elizondo
Installation Manager

As the Installation Manager for Service Champions, Stephen strives to make sure our customers are 100% satisfied. Having served in the navy for 4 years, Stephen brings a great work ethic to the team and instills this in our Installation Department. His dedication to the team shows through in the quality workmanship of Service Champions' installations.

Stephen's previous positions and responsibilites included field supervisor and trainer. Having worked in the industry for over 17 years, as well as being and EPA Instructor and Nate Trainer, Stephen brings forth the experience to continuously train our team of installers to exceed the expectations of Service Champions' customers.

In Stephen's spare time, he enjoys fishing and working around the house. He and his wife reside in Murrieta and are the proud parents of 4 beautiful children all under the age of 12.

Gary Arita
Service Manager

As the Service Manager, Gary is focused on ensuring that our technicians are properly trained so that our customers are always taken care of. With over 25 service technicians, Gary knows the importance of providing our customers with a high level of satisfaction and comfort, and is dedicated to the top quality training for Service Champions technicians.

He has been in the HVAC industry since 1976, having previously worked as a Service Manager for 25 years. Gary's background and experience in the industry has helped to build a strong team of hardworking, skilled, customer service oriented service technicians.

When not at Service Champions, Gary spends his free time golfing and fishing. He and his wife of 25 years thoroughly enjoy spending time with their 5 children.


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